The best way to get an accurate quote for publishing your book is for you to send us your manuscript, preferably via email. In addition, please tell us any preferences you may have that will help us to determine what services you require. Will there be photos in your book? How many? Color or black and white? In your own mind, how much editing do you think you will need? Light copy editing? Extensive critical editing and/or rewriting? Do you want your book available as an ebook for people who prefer to download books to their ebook readers? Will you want marketing? Would you be interested in having an author website?

Below are some specifics.

Book Preparation and Publishing set-up:

Editing: The fee for editing is based upon a combination of the number of words in the manuscript, the complexity of the writing, and the amount of time it takes to complete the job. We review each manuscript before determining the editing fee and providing an estimate to authors. Cover design: 500.00 Includes two design treatments. Additional design treatments are billed at 250.00 each.Interior design/page formatting: 8.00 to 12.00 per page, depending on the number of pages and the complexity of the design work. Books of straight text, such as novels, are at the lower end of the pricing rates. Books with photos and graphics are at the higher end.Ebook package (Kindle, Nook, Ipad): 300.00 to 600.00, depending on design complexity. Photo scans: 12.00 per scan Assign ISBN and bar codes: 200.00Post on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Word Association: 300.00List with Baker & Taylor distributors: 200.00

Book PrintingAll of the books published by Word Association are printed and bound in-house on state of the art equipment. We take great pride in the appearance of our books and take great care in both their production and packaging. We know that our writers have invested their hopes and dreams in the words they have spent countless hours writing and agonizing over. When the day comes that we place the book in their hands for the first time, is it usually a very emotional moment, even a tearful one for some authors. So we want the quality of the finished product to be worthy of such a powerful experience.

How many books do you need? The key to answering this question has to do with how many books you think you can initially sell. If you already have a public following, perhaps you write a column for your local newspaper, or you are a public speaker, a popular chef at a well-known restaurant, a teacher, host a radio talk program, or are a religious or community leader, you will likely be able to sell more books on your own because of what you do and who you are.

Those authors who are recognized experts in their fields or those who have identified a target group for their books can expect higher sales faster. Those books will also likely be able to attract more media attention, which of course sends book buyers to the book stores into your direction to purchase even more of your books.

If you fall into this category you will likely want to purchase a generous supply of books for your personal use. The more books you order, the better discount we can offer you. And you are free to do whatever you want to with your books—you can sell them or give them away or use them as a marketing tool. You keep 100 percent of your sales.

The point of all this is that we want to give our authors the very best chance to succeed. Some of you may not want to purchase any books at all. That’s okay—we don’t require it. When we receive orders for your books, we print them at our expense, and we pay you a 30 percent royalty. That is one of the highest royalty rates in the publishing industry.

Prices for book printing are prepared upon a review of your manuscript.

Editing-Proofreading-Ghost WritingEditing is one of the most important services we offer here at Word Association. That’s why it is at the top of the list. The criticism that is most frequently leveled at self-published books is that they are not subject to the same rigorous editing as books that are published by “traditional” publishers. There is a lot of truth to this criticism. When we receive a manuscript at Word Association, we let you know up front if we think the editing is sub-par. If it is, you have the choice of either finding your own editor, or using one of our editors. Or you could go to a vanity press that doesn’t give a whit about quality editing. Check out the credentials of our editors on the “About Us” page. They are pros, and they will most certainly improve your manuscript.

Proofreading involves checking the manuscript carefully for errors in spelling, punctuation, and usage--as well as checking for formatting glitches such as improper line or paragraphs breaks. Most writers, even the best ones, need someone else to proof their own work. You don't necessarily need to have one of our editors do it--you could hire someone, or maybe you know a retired English teacher who would be willing to do it for you. But whoever proofreads your book, you--the writer--are finally responsible for the finished product. No one will guarantee perfection. In fact, rare is the published book that doesn't have a single mistake in the first printing. So when you get your manuscript back from the proofreader you will want to review it very carefully.

If you have an idea for a book but don’t have the time or the talent to write the book yourself, we can do it for you. Ghostwriting has a time-honored tradition. We work with writers we know to be highly-skilled in their craft and choose the one most suited to a given project. Our writing programs, which are designed to preserve the author’s voice and intent, are offered at various levels depending upon the amount of preparation work to be done. Writer and client work closely, and our writers will draft some preliminary pages for approval, to make sure that the writer and client are a good fit.

There are three levels: Level One: The book is written from an author’s rough draft.Level Two: The book is written from a detailed outline.Level Three: The book is written from an interview with the author.
The fee for ghostwriting depends almost entirely on how much time the project will take.

Book LicensingOne option to writing your own legal book or hiring a ghostwriter is licensing a book from an attorney who has already published a book but is willing to “share” the basic content of his or her book—for a fee. This is a viable option for lawyers who want to publish a book in their area of expertise but who don’t have the time or the inclination or the temperament to write their own book.

Here is how it works. You tell us your area or areas of expertise. We search our large library of legal books we have published and try to find an attorney who would be willing to license his book to you. A fee is negotiated. Typically this fee ranges from $1200 to as much as $2500.00 for the first year, then $500 per year for three years. After that, you own the book. There are other conditions. Most attorneys will not license their book to an attorney who practices in the same state. In addition, the licensee will be expected to make substantial changes in the text. The laws for each state usually differ, and it will be up to the licensee to do the research and make the changes appropriate to his state. The licensee will also want to include specific examples—war stories—based on actual experiences and cases in his office. In other words, the licensee should do everything possible to MAKE THE BOOK HIS OWN. Word Association Publishers will assist you in this task by creating a unique cover and overall design for your book. And we will assign a new ISBN number to your book and we will copyright the book in your name. It becomes YOUR book!

Cover DesignA smart cover design is essential. It can be as simple as stylized typography in one color. Or it can be as intricate as a full-color photograph or an original piece of art. You can spend a lot of money on a terrible cover, and you can spend a lot less money on a terrific cover. At Word Association we will make sure you get your money's worth. Check out our bookstore pages to see samples of the many covers we've designed.

You tell us what you want, and we will try to design a cover within your budget. If you already have prepared a cover for your book, we will be happy to use it. If it has been prepared to the exact specifications required, there will be no additional fee. If we have to scan your artwork to prepare the cover, the fee is usually $200 or less.

Our cover design fees also include preparation of the back cover. In many ways, the back cover is as important--some would say even more important--as the front cover. The back cover is the hook; here is where you "sell" the book. We know all of the various ingredients for a successful back cover design.

Interior Design The design of a book has a profound influence on its readability and ultimate success. Our professional page design and typesetting will provide the author with an original design that is both aesthetically pleasing and appropriate to the subject.

If you intend to typeset your own manuscript (or have it done elsewhere for you), make certain that you consult with your publisher first. It's true that you can save yourself some money by bringing camera-ready copy to the table, but preparing a manuscript for book publication isn't as simple as it may seem. What you thought was camera-ready may in fact require hours of reworking and re-formatting. You can save yourself a lot of time, money, and headaches by getting exact specifications beforehand.

Our fee for typesetting is $8.00 per manuscript page (8 1/2 x 11, double-spaced). If you submit your manuscript on disk, we charge $6.00 a page for formatting

Book CredentialsAny book which we choose to publish under our imprint will be assigned an ISBN (International Standard Book Number). There is no extra charge for this service. Since many bookstores will not even consider selling any book that has no ISBN, this is an important credential. We will also have an ISBN bar code imprinted on the book cover or dust jacket--again, at no additional cost. Most bookstores now require this bar code for scanning purposes. We also assign a Library of Congress number to any book that qualifies for one. The LOC is prestigious, because your book will not only be listed in the Library of Congress, but your book will actually be on its shelves.

Marketing & PromotionMARKETING PACKAGE: $1200.00Your Word Association Marketing Package is designed to help you light a fire, build a bridge, and start the buzz about your book. The goal is to sell your book by letting readers know what it has to offer them, motivating them to buy it, and making that purchase simple and easy.

Word Association has accounts with all of the major book industry channels, including Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and also with the nation’s largest book wholesaler, Baker & Taylor Book Company. This means that your book will be listed in the database of these large companies, making it easier for individuals and bookstores to find and order your book. Your book will be posted and sold online at Amazon and Barnesandnoble. We also complete and submit the Advanced Book Information (ABI) form, ensuring that your book will be listed in Books in Print. It’s the most important directory in the book industry.

BASIC MARKETING PACKAGE MATERIALS
Word Association will write, design and print the following:
(25) News Releases
A sample cover letter
(100) 2-sided Business Cards
(100) bookmarks
(50) 2-sided post cards
(5) 11 x 17 full color posters
(5) 8 ½ x 11 full display card
(25) promotional book covers with author bio and photo
(5) promotional, pre-publication copies of your book will also be included in this package
Also available upon special request are price quotes for
Additional pre-publication copies of your book
Oversized posters and banners
Additional quantities of any of the marketing materials
Personalized catalogue envelopes

PublicityFor authors who want to take their marketing activity to the next level, we partner with several public relations firms that can create custom publicity programs and marketing plans designed to bring nationwide attention to the author and book. These firms will also work with authors to seek awards, greater distribution of the book, book reviews, endorsements, speaking engagements, press/book tours and national and local media campaigns. Website, press kits and any copy needed to help "sell" the book are created as part of an overall author program. Please contact us for more information about publicity for your book.

Order Fulfillment and Author RoyaltiesWord Association performs all functions of order fulfillment. Customers may order your book by calling our 800 line, or by email, or by ordering off of our website, or even by visiting our facility. We charge customers the full list price of your book and we pay you a royalty of 30 %. We also charge customers the PA sales tax of 7% (Allegheny County).

Word Association also fills orders from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Baker & Taylor, one of the nation’s largest book distributors. Most independent book stores order their books through Baker & Taylor. Since retailers and wholesalers purchase books at a discount, the author royalty is determined by the amount paid. For example, Amazon takes a discount of 55% off the list price, which means that on a $20.00 book, Amazon pays publisher $9.00. We pay author royalty of 30%, or $3.00.

On ebooks, Word Association pays authors a royalty of 50% of the amount of the ebook purchase. For the Kindle, for example, Word Association prices most ebooks at $9.99, because Amazon takes only a 30 percent profit on any ebook priced at $10.00 or less. So, if your ebook is priced at $9.99 Amazon will pay the publisher a royalty of 6.99. We pay authors a royalty of 50%, or $3.50.

eBooksToday the book industry is experiencing a revolution. E-books or digital books are surging with multi-million dollar sales, as many bookstores sadly struggle to stay alive. However, paper books are still selling (although a big chunk of that business takes place on-line.) Nevertheless, I believe there will always be a cherished place in our culture for the paper book as well as the bookstore, even if it isn’t the big box variety.

What does this mean for the self-published author? You need to do it all.In our house, we read from our Kindles, our Nooks and from our paperbacks. And I think we’re representative of a lot of people. Some time ago, we instructed our designers to begin learning how to create well-crafted eBooks. (Note: there are a lot of badly formatted eBooks out there—some of them you can hardly read.) Today our team may be one of the most experienced design staffs in the eBook business. And our authors are reaping the benefits of having their books available in the most popular eBook formats.

eBooks offer instant gratification—hear about a book on TV or radio, read about it on a web site, have a friend recommend it, and download it to your eReader in seconds. Travelers can carry hundreds of books on their slender, lightweight eReaders for endless hours of entertainment, research, or study.

Self-published authors—even those who released their books some time ago—have an amazing opportunity to tap new markets by converting their books into eBooks.